Like the Beauty of the Snow
by akaisakura
Summary: Now that the last battle is over, Vincent has some time to think about what to do with the rest of his life. His first priority is finding Lucrecia...
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Warning: Really old fic ahead. Watch out for bad writing skills. 

ok, here, you get to read a really old piece of writing (was also my first piece of fanfiction) that I did back in 1998. This was originally posted on Sugoi Mog's Final Fantasy site, which is now Inner Id: the mind of Mog (http://www.mindofmog.net), under the name of Bondchick...so if anyone thinks I'm ripping this fic off (like all that many people have actually read this fic before...), I'm not...I am me...i think... ^_^;; This fic is a Final Fantasy 7 fic about Vincent Valentine and a few other people...can't tell or else it'd ruin the story... ^_~ another dark fic with a happy ending. I think I'm one of those people that can't stand to write a fic where the characters are _absolutely_ miserable at the end. 

  


Author's notes are after the epilogue...I just couldn't work them so they could be tacked to the end of their respective chapters...cause the notes contained spoilers for upcoming chapters...ah well... 

  


Disclaimer: This fic is entirely fictional…all characters are property of Square...Blah, blah, blah... oh, and if you want to use this fic, please ask for permission...it's only nice 

  


  


Like the Beauty of the Snow 

  


  


Chapter 1: New Beginnings 

Vincent sat by himself in the large living room. In his favorite chair, he gazed into the roaring fire, and thought about the past year. 

"It was snowing outside when I brought her home to this mansion, just like it is doing now," Vincent thought. After the defeat of Sephiroth, Vincent had gone back to Nibelheim in search of his love. Though he'd seen her briefly before the final battle, he still wasn't sure if who he saw was a ghost or Lucrecia. Wishing for the best, Vincent returned to Lucrecia's cave, longfully hoping that it was she that he saw and not her departed soul. 

"Lucrecia!" he cried throughout his search; a cry that received no reply. Dreading that he must've only seen her spirit, Vincent downheartedly trudged towards the mouth of the cave. As he turned around to look one last time at the place where she had stood, he couldn't help but feel drawn back in, towards the very back of the cave. The cave wall shone with a blinding radiance and Vincent tried hard not to squint as he progressed further and further in. Suddenly, he reached the back wall of the cave. 

"What am I doing here?" he thought out loud. "I can barely withstand this light, and yet, I'm compelled to stay here." 

At that instant, it was as though the cave knew it was too bright for its visitor, and it dimmed. 

"What the heck is going on?!" he wondered. "Why am I at this dead end?!" 

Almost as if the cave was answering his question, a crack in the wall made itself obvious to Vincent, and at that instant, he knew. 

"She must still be alive," he realized. "This cave is supposed to be magically connected to its resident." 

Numerous myths and wives tales about this cave suddenly flooded back into Vincent's mind. Many people supposed the cave to be a magical sanctuary. Hidden behind a waterfall, the cave was endowed with abundant amounts of Mako energy from the reservoir in the mountain. If a person knew how to control that energy, the cave, in a sense, was connected to that person. It was like living in a gigantic piece of Materia. The fact that the cave responded to Vincent's comments meant that there had to be someone hiding behind the crack in the wall, controlling the cave. 

With as much strength as he could muster, Vincent pushed on the wall. Much to his surprise, it swung open to reveal another cave; only this time, it had two tunnels at its back wall. 

"Shit! This is just the beginning!" Vincent thought to himself. "It's going to take forever to search through this maze of tunnels! Lucrecia! Help me! I know you're still alive! I can feel your presence!" Closing his eyes, he tried to sense where she was, but to no avail. He finally decided that he would have to search the tunnels by himself. 

"I will not give up until I find you, Lucrecia, no matter how long it takes." 

After what seemed like a day, Vincent wandered into a small, warm cavern. What greeted his eyes was an area no bigger than a small shack with nothing in it but a quaint, little bed, neatly squared away in the darkest section of the cavern, and a few scattered objects. He saw a balled up creature on the bed, although he could not tell what it really was from where he was standing. The creature just lay there, unmoving. Vincent walked toward it, Death Penalty in hand, just in case it should turn out to be some unwanted foe. 

As he stepped closer to the bed, Vincent began to discern its shape and he gasped with horror and joy when he realized that the creature curled upon the bed was a very sick woman. 

"Lucrecia!" 

Her name echoed throughout the cavern, and although Vincent said it loudly, the woman did not move. Feeling her forehead, Vincent realized that this was no ordinary illness. Her head felt icy cold, and yet she was still breathing. Without a second thought, Vincent picked up his love, and the few belongings she had, and ran for the entrance of the cave. He had lost his way in the network of tunnels earlier, but he vowed not to lose his way. "Not right now. Not when Lucrecia needs me the most." 

Finally reaching the entrance, Vincent paused to catch his breath and figure out how to get her off this mountain and down to the town below. It had been a rough climb just to reach the cave, and it would be doubly as hard with another person. 

"Maybe I can fly us both down," Vincent thought, but then thought the better of it. After all, he really didn't know the extent of his flying capabilities. It's true he could float in air, but just how long he could do that had never been tested. 

"If I can transform at will, I could change into Chaos and get us down there in no time." But try as he might, the leathery wings never sprouted out his back. 

"Damn that Hojo," he cursed. "These transformations must be based on blood and wounds. He made sure I couldn't just change at will and kill him. Damn!" 

After racking his brain some more, Vincent decided that the only way he was going to get Lucrecia off of the mountain was to go back down the way he came and return with help.

"Don't worry, beautiful, I'll be back to take you home," Vincent whispered into her ear. Lucrecia must have heard him, and the cave lit up with the same brilliance as before. He gently placed her back into the room behind the wall, gave her a soft kiss, and descended the mountain. 

Upon reaching Nibelheim, Vincent gave Cid a call. 

"Yeah, this is Cid. What do you want?" 

"It's me, Vincent. I have a favor to ask of you." 

"Oh, it's you. Thought it was a customer. So what the $%!# do ya want?" Cid had decided to start a shipping company using his Highwind once it was completely rebuilt, although he still tinkered with the idea of building another rocket on the side... 

"I would like to know if I may borrow the Highwind..." 

"You wanna do what?!?! Nobody %@&#-in' touches my baby, let alone borrow it!!!" 

"Cid, I know you wouldn't normally let anyone borrow the Highwind under any circumstances, but I desperately need it for a personal matter." 

"I don't care what the @%#^ you say!! &@%$-in' nobody pilots my ship 'less I say so. You're not usin' my beauty unless I'm piloting it!!" 

So, a few hours later, Vincent found himself on the bridge of the Highwind and talking to a rather peeved Cid. 

"So, ya gonna tell me why the !%#@ ya called me all the @$%!-in' way out here for?!" 

"It's personal. Just take me to the peak of Mt. Nibel. There is a cave there behind a waterfall." 

"Wait a second. You want me to go to that @^*#-in' messed up cave?! I can't even land this thing there!" 

"I'm going down there alone. I just need you to be nearby." 

"Damn it, Vincent, you'd better tell me why I'm riskin' my ^@$#-in' @$$ flyin' up there or you might as well forget the whole damn thing!!!" 

"Alright! Fine! I found Lucrecia there. Satisfied?!" 

After that, Cid shut his mouth, too stunned to say anything. Puffing on his cigarette, he piloted the Highwind towards Lucrecia's Cave. 

When they reached the cave, Vincent descended alone. Cid decided to give Vincent some privacy since this concerned Lucrecia, but had initially wanted to help. He looked on from the bridge as Vincent disappeared behind the waterfall. Vincent immediately went to the back cave. "See, I told you I would be back, my love," he whispered. He then carefully picked Lucrecia up and carried her outside. She was still very ill, and she looked a little paler than before. When he reached the Highwind, Vincent gently slung her over one shoulder and started the slow climb up the ladder and onto the Highwind deck. Cid was waiting there to help him with the last part of the climb. 

Within minutes, the Highwind was outside Nibelheim. Neither had said anything to each other on the way home, and Vincent just kept looking at Lucrecia. His eyes displayed that he was half amazed that Lucrecia was still alive and half-scared to death because of her condition. When the ship touched down, Cid walked over to the corner where Vincent sat. 

"Um…Vince…" 

"I can't believe this…" Vincent just kept his head bowed, looking at Lucrecia's pale face. 

"Vince, we've landed…" 

"I am well aware, thank you." Vincent shot a look at Cid. Coldness and indifference for his friend covered his face. 

"Oh, stop it, will you!! !*&#, Vince, quit actin' like you're so %&$#-in' indifferent!!! I can see behind that stare!! I've known you too long not to know!!" 

Vincent dropped his head as Cid lectured him. Inwardly, Vincent knew that Cid was right. He had to stop hiding from his friends behind that mask of indifference. And slowly, tears began to form in his eyes. 

After Cid stopped talking, silence covered the ship like a blanket of snow. After a while, Cid thought he heard something he would never hear; soft sobs of grief from the man sitting on the floor in front of him. 

"Vince?" Cid gently asked, as he knelt down beside Vincent. "You alright?" 

"How could I have let this have happened…? Huh, Cid?…" Vincent started to raise his head. He gazed into Cid's eyes. "Tell, me, Cid…How could I have let this happened to such an angel…?" And a few tears splattered onto the floor. 

"Aw, come on, Vince. You know it wasn't your fault. You tried everythin' ya could to stop Hojo. Ya couldn't have done anythin' more." 

"But I could have tried harder. I could have fought to get out of that basement when I had the chance. Instead, I just slept thirty years of my life away," Vincent spat. Anger tore at his heart; fierce anger at himself. 

"Vince, ya gotta stop blamin' yourself for what was inevitable. Hojo woulda killed ya if you'd gone after him, and what good to Lucrecia would that've been?" 

"Better than what I did do. At least then I would have died trying." 

"Now you're just talkin' shit. At least ya got one another now." 

"Yeah…" Vincent sighed. How he wished it was that simple. Vincent had a bad feeling that if Lucrecia survived whatever she was affected with, she still wouldn't be alive for much long after. 

"Say, ya need any help? I mean, I could call up a few people and see if they can help," Cid volunteered. 

"No, Cid. I want to keep this as private as possible. There's no need for anyone else to know." 

"Well, then, at least let me help ya home." 

"Thank you…" 

The two of them walked off the ship, Vincent carrying Lucrecia in his arms. As they neared ShinRa Mansion, Vincent stopped and turned to Cid. 

"Thank you, Cid, for all you've done. I owe you one." 

"Ah, don't mention it. Just make sure you invite me to the weddin'," Cid said with wink. 

"I will," Vincent said with sincerity. 

And after some parting words with Cid, Vincent carried the sick woman into his house. 

"Lucrecia, you're finally home." 

  


  


Just a quick note: I was blessed with a fan-art (http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/greenside/455/Cid_wedding.jpg) based on this section of the story. The artist's name is Lucrecia Sakkio. She did an excellent job of capturing the mood I was trying to create in this scene. 


	2. Chapter 2: Death is Not the End

Chapter 2: Death is Not the End 

It had begun to snow when Vincent brought her into his home, and he was thankful that they got home before the storm started. Vincent quickly put her to bed and tried as best as he could to accommodate her. 

Despite what Vincent had just said to him, Cid wasted no time, after he got home, to call everyone else up about the latest news. Seeing Lucrecia, in the state that she was, made Cid wonder, "Does that damned guy even know how to take care of another person? He certainly doesn't take very ^@$#-in' good care of himself, always lookin' so deathly pale and all..." And so he called up the Strifes, Barrett, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and yes, even Yuffie to see if anyone could help Vincent out. Out of all of them, Tifa was the only one who had any knowledge about nursing someone back to health, so the Strifes headed out to Nibelheim, their hometown. 

Thinking back on it now, Vincent wondered if he could have ever saved her from her death. Lucrecia's decline was gradual. For months, the three people monitored her around the clock, but it was getting them nowhere. Right before she passed away, Shera and Cid had stopped by to see how Lucrecia was doing, as well as making sure Vincent was alright himself. They were discussing Lucrecia's condition one afternoon, and Shera suggested that they should try a more…scientific…method of determining what was ailing her. 

"Vincent…um…I know you do not like the idea of experimenting on anyone but…" 

"I know what you are suggesting, Shera…" 

"Well, I figured that since we still haven't pin-pointed the source of her illness, that the only option left is to…" 

"I know." Vincent glanced from Shera to Cid and then back to Shera. Both of them looked like they had given up on any other way. 

"Vince, you know we're here for ya. #^@#! This is the only thing left! We didn't ask you earlier, and we didn't want it to come to this, but…" 

"If this is truly the last option there is, then we must do it. Shera, I wish to do the actual tests myself…I don't want you or anyone else to feel the burden of guilt if anything should go wrong…" 

"Alright, Vincent…then we start tomorrow…" 

For the next few days, Vincent, Cid, and Shera busied themselves with repairing what was left of the old lab in the basement and gathering the supplies they would need. Meanwhile, Cloud and Tifa kept watch over Lucrecia. 

Lucrecia never woke up from whatever she was suffering and by the time they had figured it out, her body had suffered so much, it was beyond any human help. 

"We finally got the results from those tests." Vincent dropped a manila folder on the table in front of him. 

"And...How does it look, Vincent?" 

"Not good...not good at all..." Vincent trailed off. 

Tifa picked up the results and looked at them in disbelief. There, on the page, were written the indisputable words of death: Jenova cells and Mako poisoning. Vincent just stared off into space, muttering, "I wish we never did these tests...It would have been better never to have known...or would it? I don't know...maybe I was meant to know...the fate she suffered without me...by her side..." 

Tifa turned her attention back to the neatly drawn out report Vincent and Shera had put together to the best of their knowledge. 

"Lucrecia has both Jenova cells in her and normal human cells. These two, from what was gathered, react in two very different ways to Mako energy. Jenova cells are preserved by Mako, at best, but usually do not react violently with Mako. However, human cells do react violently with Mako energy. Her prolonged exposure (about 30 years) to Mako energy, have mutated her cells by massively poisoning her with Mako. The two different cell types living within her body can no longer co-exist, and so her body is fighting itself; one part consuming the other..." 

And there, the report abruptly ended. 

  


  


Lucrecia's funeral was a small one, and the clouds overhead only added their tears to the tears of those present. Although nobody said much, it was obvious what everyone wanted to say. Tifa and Cloud wished to offer words of condolence, but they didn't know much about Vincent's relationship with Lucrecia. Shera offered words of hope, and Cid did the only thing he could think of; being tough. 

"You ok, Vince?" 

After some hesitation, Vincent replied, "Yeah. I just can't believe this twist of fate. I finally find her, Cid, and look how fate has robbed me again." 

"Ya can't dwell on that now, Vince. What's done is done. Ya gotta go on livin'." 

"I can't go on…Even if my body went on forever, my soul is dead…I want only to end this hell I'm living in and be one with Lucrecia." 

"Now, that's not the Vincent I know!! @#%#! The Vincent I know would deal with this in a more rational way and @#%^-in' find a way to go on…I mean, hell, you've done it once before. You can do it again." 

"It's different now. I once had an intense hatred and vengeance against Hojo to keep me going. I also had a glimmer of hope that maybe Lucrecia was alive. But now I have paid Hojo back our debt of pain and she is gone. I have nothing left to live for…" 

"Sure you do, Vincent," Shera interjected. "For starters, you can rebuild this town." 

"That's right," Tifa joined in. "Vince…Cloud and I can help you find a purpose to your life again. Besides, it would be nice if our hometown was filled with life once more." 

"Life…" Vincent chuckled. Annoyance filled his voice. "What is it good for? I have been alive for so long, and have found nothing good in life. Do any of you even know how old I really am? This shell of a body hides my true age so well…I've lived for 58 years on this god-forsaken world. I've had enough of this thing called 'life.' Just let me go…" 

"Vincent!!! If you keep on talking like this, I'm going to make you suffer so much worse than Hojo's worst experiments you're gonna wish Hojo himself would come back and kill you!!! Tifa yelled as she shook her fist at Vincent. 

Silence…except for the pitter-patter of rain hitting the ground… 

"I'm sorry, Tifa." Vincent looked down at the ground. "It's just that my life has been hell since the day I was born…I accept your help in rebuilding Nibelheim and I will try to find meaning to my life once again." 

So Tifa and Cloud had stayed a little longer to help Vincent get over his loss. And to make sure he didn't' try to hurt himself. 

"The Strifes left about a month ago," thought Vincent as he looked away from the flames. "...And Lucrecia left two months ago." He looked out the window, and saw that the snow was still falling but that the sun had gone down most of the way. 

"Two months…and I have yet to find a new purpose in life." 

Nibelheim was slowly being repopulated, but despite all the joy the people in the town seemed to have, Vincent still felt incomplete and hopeless. The only reason he kept on going was because his friends would not allow him to die. And so, he trudged along; each day more depressing than the last. 

Seeing that the sun had set while he was musing, Vincent decided it was time for bed. Yawning, Vincent got out of his chair, and suddenly felt more alone than usual. As he climbed the stairs to get ready for bed, he felt like something strange and special was about to happen. 

"I have been thinking about Lucrecia a lot lately," he conceded to no one in particular, but wondered why that should make any difference on this cold, wintry night. 

As he climbed into bed, he also felt a twinge of fear, and guilt, as if somehow, something was not quite right. "Then again, nothing _ever_ feels right," Vincent mumbled to himself. "Since when have _I_ ever been able to sleep right, knowing all the sins in my heart?" 

Falling uncomfortably into sleep, Vincent was painfully aware that he was having the usual nightmares about Hojo again; those experiments and Hojo's laughing as he lay on a cold table. But worse than that, there were eviler, nameless demons tearing at his soul. Vincent had never been able to figure out what they were. Tonight, however, would be the night he would see the demons for what they were. For the nightmare took an unexpected turn from its usual course and became something so very different. 


	3. Chapter 3: Another Beginning

Chapter 3: Another Beginning 

"Vincent...Vincent..." 

The voice called softly, faintly and gently. 

"Vincent..." 

At the mentioning of his name, the nightmare vanished and was replaced by a warm glow. Vincent looked towards the glow and slowly, Lucrecia materialized before him in a white gown stained with blood. 

"Vincent, I know there is great distress in your soul. Things that you may not consciously be aware of, but your subconscious knows." 

"Lucrecia..." 

"There was much I wanted to tell you before I left the world, but I couldn't get through to you." 

"Lucrecia…my sweet angel…" 

"I may not be such an angel once I tell you the things I should have all those years ago…" 

"It does not matter…I still love you…" 

"I know…and some of what I need to tell you is from the darkest corners of my soul…demons I had hoped to destroy before I left…they are like the demons of your soul…" 

"Lucrecia...what are the demons that scratch and tear at my heart? Please, tell me." 

"For that, I will have to take you back to Nibelheim, thirty-one years ago..." 

The glow disappeared and was replaced with a scene all too familiar in Vincent's mind. 

"All you remember is our relationship here in Nibelheim, but what you don't know is why it all happened. Am I correct in that assumption?" 

"Yes, I remember it well..." Suddenly, the intense emotions he had thirty-one years ago returned to him in a tidal wave; washing his entire existence with joy, love, hatred, and most of all, betrayal. 

"Tell me what you remember, Vincent." 

"I remember the night you told me you loved me..." 

"And..." 

"And then, the days afterwards where there was nothing but joy and love between us. Then, all of a sudden, you began to take interest in Hojo. I thought it was nothing, at first; dismissing it as an admiration for a fellow scientist. But then, it became more than that all of a sudden, when you married Hojo clear out of the blue. I felt very left out and confused. I hated Hojo for stealing you away from me, and I felt betrayed because you had shared a bed with me, but went and married someone else, especially on such short notice without even explaining why." 

"It's true that I married Hojo without much of a warning. I'm sorry, Vincent. During those days, I was thinking of my own goals more than anyone else's feelings. For me, it was a debate over which one of you was the more practical choice. I loved you an incredible amount, but my common sense won out in the end and I married Hojo because he was a scientist like me. Also, you were a Turk. What was I to do if you were out on a mission and I needed you? Or what if you died? What then? Hojo proposed to me only a few days before he and I were married. In those few days, I made the most selfish decision of my life, and I left you out of it. That is one of the demons I bare; my selfishness over others feelings, especially yours, Vincent." 

"Furthermore," Lucrecia continued, "I, too, had nightmares about Hojo. The inhumanity of the man I had recently married began to show up. He began eyeing me differently than before, and before I knew it, he was so consumed by his work on the Jenova Project that he didn't regard anyone as human anymore. It was at that point, Vincent, that I discovered I had a child growing in me. The father, I realized, was you..." 

Upon hearing those last few words, Vincent stumbled backwards and could scarcely keep himself upright. 

"Wh-what?!?!" 

"You always knew it in the back of your mind, Vincent. That's why those demons hound you so. You had a premonition that I could have been carrying your child, but pushed it onto Hojo because that's what I told you." 

"Why didn't you ever tell me this before?!" 

"My reputation as trustworthy scientist was at stake. A female scientist was hardly ever taken seriously back then, as you will recall. What would people say if they knew I was having an illegitimate son? Thus, the demon of selfishness returned to claim me." 

"Wait, how can you even be sure he was _my_ child?" 

"Hojo wasn't a romantic like you, Vincent. He only laid with me in bed once, and he thought that was enough. It appeared that way too when I told him a few days later that I was pregnant. Hojo never suspected that the son I carried was not his because he didn't keep track of how long I was pregnant, nor did he care, as long as he got his new specimen..." 

"I only went along with Hojo's experiment because I was spiteful for even having a child, especially an illegitimate one. I, in my spite and selfishness, felt an urge to destroy this being; this bastard of a son whose father I wasn't even married to. I lived for a long time with this sin on my heart." 

"What was worse was the spite was against you as well." 

"Is that why you didn't stop Hojo from performing his experiments on me?" Vincent said, holding up his claw. 

"Yes...Only years later, when I was discarded like some used petri dish, did I really think over what I had done...and that was when I realized that I loved you more than anyone else in the world...But it was too late to do anything about it all...and so the demons of my sins hounded me for thirty years…as they still hound me today...the demons of selfishness, spite, hatred and destruction...they destroyed me...they destroyed us...the three of us..." 

"But what of my demons? Why do I have so many? If what you say is true, then my only fault so far is being the father of a son I never knew. Or are they the result of my knowing that I had a son? Are they plaguing me because I was never the father I should have been?" 

"In a way, yes. A few of them are the result of you knowing you had a child, but they torment you because you were never there for him. Other demons are part of your struggle to see some sort of fairness in life. You always felt..." 

"...like you were taking all the pain by yourself, when it's like you really weren't because I was also suffering..." 

"Exactly...your demon of hatred is one you've created for yourself. It's time to let it go…You can't go on for the rest of your life hating yourself for what I did." 

"Lucrecia…more than anything in the world, I want to be with you…I want to end my life and join you…" 

"Vincent…you also possess the demons of selfishness and spite. I can see them, and you must learn to rid them from your soul. You say that you want to leave your life and return to the Planet, and yet, it is so selfish of you not to think of your friends. You only want to die to satisfy your own needs and wants. What about your friends? Do you think that they aren't deserving of your life?…that their friendship is not enough to keep you alive?" 

The silence that followed seemed to last forever. Vincent bowed his head in shame. He had never thought of things that way. After a while, Lucrecia spoke up. 

"Vincent, it's too late for me to physically atone for my sins. However, it isn't too late for you...or Sephiroth...since I was directly responsible for what happened to our child, I felt that the only way I can patch things up and make amends is to help you and Sephiroth gain a second chance to right the wrongs in your lives. He will be returned to you." 

"What? I don't understand." 

"Vincent, listen...When a person dies, they are given a choice. Those who are truly remorseful of what they had done while they were alive are given a second chance…a chance to go back and right the wrongs before their spirit dissolves into the Lifestream. During all those years I spent in hiding, I began to truly regret everything I had ever done. I promised myself that if the Planet gave me a second chance, that I would give that chance to my son. Just as I predicted, Sephiroth was not given a chance to relive life because he regretted nothing. I spoke with him during the time I was ill; while I was drifting back and forth between the two worlds. He finally found out the truth of his origin and felt a need to claim his rightful identity. Only in reflection did he see the absolute evil of his actions, and in doing so, he vowed to change. I gave him my chance to relive life…to atone for my sins against him. Thus, Sephiroth's spirit will return to the earth. He will return in the form of a child, the child that was ripped from you...this time around, with your love and help, Sephiroth should turn out alright and better spirited. He's your responsibility now, Vincent...take good care of him; better than I ever did." With that, Lucrecia started to fade into the landscape. 

"But I don't know how to care for a child!" 

"Open your heart, Vincent, and let your emotions go...you have a radiant and beautiful soul, like the beauty of the snow." 

  


  


Vincent woke up with a start and looked over at his clock. It was 3 am. Peering out the window by his bed, he noticed that it had stopped snowing and the clouds had cleared up a bit. The moon cast its eerie glow on the snow and it made Vincent think of what Lucrecia had said in the dream... "like the beauty of the snow..." Just when he was about to go back to sleep, a loud knocking at his front door made Vincent get up to see who it was. He hurried downstairs, fumbled with the lock and opened the door. There was no one outside except for the lone basket on his front steps. Bending over to see what was in the basket, he was surprised, but not so surprised, to find a baby boy. Attached to the basket was a note: 

Dear Mister:   
Please look after this child because we, ourselves, have no means of doing so. His name is Zack. 

Looking at the child, Vincent remembered what he had promised. Gently holding the baby in his arms, he looked up into the night sky, and whispered, "Thank you, Lucrecia, for giving us a second chance." 


	4. Epilogue: Twenty Years Later

Epilogue: Twenty Years Later 

The streets of Nibelheim were filled with laughter and joy as the little children of the town ran home from school. As they passed the Valentine Mansion, they stopped dead in their tracks. At the gate stood two grown men. The first one was an older man who had a golden claw for his left hand. The other one was a younger man, about twenty or so, who was very well built. Both men towered above the school children, but the children didn't stop running because they were afraid, but rather because they wanted to hear the stories these two men had to tell. It was not often that they were home, but when Vincent and Zack Valentine were home from their adventures, the kids loved to hear about them. As they raced each other for the best seats in the house, Vincent looked at his son and they both smiled. 

By just looking at them, the pair didn't look anything like a father and his son. Vincent was physically built smaller than Zack and they both had different features. Zack had brown hair with hazel eyes while Vincent had black hair and red eyes. 

As Zack enthralled the kids with how he had killed a big dragon with his Masamune, Vincent's mind wandered a bit... 

"It's funny...almost ironic that Sephiroth, this time around, is named for a person he destroyed last time..." 

Vincent turned his attention back to Zack...Sephiroth... He really didn't know which name is better, but decided on Zack. 

"The old Sephiroth is dead," he thought, "so why should his old name stick?" 

Looking deep into Zack's soul, Vincent spotted Sephiroth; but instead of his Mako green eyes, they were blue, like Lucrecia's, and his hair was jet black, like his. "Zack, your soul is radiant and beautiful, like the beauty of the snow." 

  


-fin 


	5. Author's Notes

Author's notes: 

Alright…if you've made it this far, I thank you for taking the time to read my fic…I wrote this because I wasn't happy with Square's history. They left so much unexplained. I'm also a proponent of the whole Vincent is Sephiroth's father thing…as you may have already picked up… 

  


Chapter 1: 

I was trying to set up the two big ironies in this fic…the mention of a wedding by Cid and Vincent holding Lucrecia as an angel…obviously, Lucrecia dies, so Cid gets invited to a funeral instead of a wedding... :( and Lucrecia is not so angelic as she first appears…also, I tried to show that Vincent isn't mean and cold, but that he was just indifferent to the world around him. When Cid lectures him, I was hoping to show a change in Vincent's attitude towards the people around him. 

  


Chapter 2: 

The dark chapter of the fic…a contrast to my next one which was brighter, but not less serious. I threw in the whole conversation between Cid, Shera, and Vincent at the beginning of this chapter because it seemed to me that Vincent would never willingly subject anyone to experiments because of what has happened in the past. So, Cid and Shera make him see that it is the only way left after months of not knowing. 

As for my whole theory about Jenova cells, human cells, and Mako poisoning, it makes sense…for those of you out there saying, "But what about Sephiroth…" my explanation is that since he was given Jenova cells and Mako from before he was even a true embryo, a good percentage of his body must be Jenova cells. The rest of his human cells just adapted to the Jenova cells and the Mako as they were developing. That way, he is totally unaffected by the extreme Mako in his blood and that crystal he was in for 5 years. Also, Lucrecia was in the Mako cave for 30 years, which is six times more than Sephiroth's intense exposure. 

At Lucrecia's funeral, the dark conversation about death is what I think would realistically happen. It seemed like Vincent's only purpose in life was finding Lucrecia and killing Hojo…so I figured that after Lucrecia passed away, Vincent would probably feel as though he has no purpose left in his life. Also, all he ever wanted was to be with Lucrecia in life, so why not in death?…people think this way all the time…it's actually quite sad… 

  


Chapter 3: 

What I consider the most intact part of my original draft. I always wanted to know the whole story, but Square didn't do a very good job with it… >:P so…I tried my best to explain it. Lucrecia seems like such an evil person after reading the first part of chapter three…I made her that way because realistically, I don't think anyone would go along with such a crazy experiment unless they were getting something out of it…besides, Lucrecia didn't seem like the naïve type…to me, she sounded like she knew what she was doing. You can't be a scientist and be totally naïve about how an experiment can go bad very easily. Also, would a smart scientist such as herself really be so dumb as not to know what was happening to herself and those around her? I don't think Vincent is the type to be involved with a totally naïve person. On top of it all…who could really fall for Hojo?!?! 

Anyone get the petri dish metaphor?…? 0_o? Sephiroth=specimen…Lucrecia=petri dish on which the specimen grew…ok…it was a bad science joke…(note to self: this is what happens when you let an ex-pharmacy major, who _was_ a pharmacy major at that time, write a fic...) 

Then there's my wacky thing about bring Sephiroth back from the dead…yes, I'm also a fan of Sephiroth…and this is a story about redemption for three people who I feel were wronged by fate in such a twisted way I couldn't just let them suffer forever…true Sephiroth was evil and cruel, but there is always hope for people. My theory is a little odd…I mean, it seemed like Sephiroth dissolved right away into the Lifestream when he gets killed, but then again, is it not possible that he held on for just a little longer?…Could Lucrecia have spoken to Sephiroth and held him together about the time he was dying?… After all, Lucrecia was sick around the time Avalanche went to kill Sephiroth. That's why you didn't see her again when you return to Lucrecia's Cave to get Vincent's level 4 limit and his Death Penalty… It's just a theory… 

Just when you begin to think, "Where does the title fit in with all of this?" it shows up at the end of chapter three. ^_^ 

  


Epilogue: 

…ok…so this is the part that is the most unchanged…so I lied earlier… This was just a nice, short, good feeling wrap-up for the story…and a way to show that it was really Sephiroth that was brought back…and yes, the last line of the story is the title… 

  


Well, thanks for reading my rantings…I tend to go on and on…but I felt that some things needed explanations. Oh well…hope you enjoyed my fic. Comments are welcome… please email me at akaisakura@hotmail.com 


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